Deathblow (comics): Difference between revisions - Wikipedia
Article Images
Line 2:
{{more citations needed|date=April 2011}}
{{cleanup rewrite|date=April 2011}}
{{Primary sources|date=April 2023}}
}}
{{Infobox comics character
|image=DBcvr2.jpg
Line 10:
|character_name=Deathblow
|real_name=Michael Cray
|publisher=[[Wildstorm]] ([[DC Comics]])
|debut= ''[[Darker Image]]'' #1 (March 1993)
|creators=[[Jim Lee]] and [[Brandon Choi]]
|alliances=Team 6<br>[[Team 7]]<br>[[Gen 12]]<br>[[International Operations]]<br>[[Stormwatch (comics)|Stormwatch]]<br> Team LaSport
|aliases=
|powers= *Hand-to-hand combatant
Line 21:
}}
'''Deathblow''' is a [[fictionalcomic book character]] in the {{[[Wildstorm Universe}}]]. He first appears in ''[[Darker Image]]'' #1 (March 1993) and was created by [[Jim Lee]] and [[Brandon Choi]].
==Fictional character biography==
'''Michael Cray''' was born to U.S. Navy Admiral Phillip James Cray and Elizabeth Cray. He has a brother named Alexander. Michael Cray's daughter is Rachel Goldman, a.k.a. [[Sublime (Wildstorm)|Sublime]], a member of [[DV8]]. After his parents were slain by terrorists, he joins the U.S. military to avenge their deaths. He became a [[Navy SEAL]] prior to being transferred to International Operation's newly formed [[Team 7]]. Like all members of that group, he was a highly experienced Special Forces operative. The team had been sent on a mission (or so they believed), when in reality they were sent to be exposed to the [[Gen-Active#Gen-Active humans|Gen Factor]] by [[International Operations#Miles Craven|Miles Craven]] (head of I.O.). Unlike the other surviving members of Team 7 (not everyone survived the exposure to the gen factor treatment), Michael's powers did not manifest until many years later. Despite the lack of power, he would fight for his teammates, such as taking a Naval officer hostage when the other powered members of Team 7 were literally being nuked as a test (they got through, though). When the majority of Team 7 went underground (with their families), Cray continues to serve I.O. (as did Lynch, Dane and Backlash). Miles Craven assigns Cray to the Special Operations Group. He did many wetwork and blackbag assignments for them.
<!-- Commented out: [[Image:Deathblow 1.jpg|thumb|left|150px|Cover of ''Deathblow'' (vol. 2) #1 (Story by [[Brian Azzarello]] and art by [[Carlos D'Anda]])]] -->
Line 33:
Deathblow dies during the [[Fire From Heaven (comics)|Fire From Heaven]] event, sacrificing himself in order to kill Damocles, the villain from that crossover.<ref>''Deathblow'' #29</ref>
After the events of Captain Atom: Armageddon and the Worldstorm, Deathblow was revived and began starring in his own series, ''Deathblow'' (vol. 2), written by [[Brian Azzarello]] with art by [[Carlos D'Anda]].
During [[World's End (comics)|World's End]], Deathblow is part of [[Stormwatch: Post Human Division#World's End|Stormwatch: Post Human Division]] leading missions on a post-apocalyptic Earth.<ref>''Stormwatch - PHD'' #17 (2009)</ref> It is also revealed that, despite being known as "powerless" in the Worldstorm continuity, his healing factor has evolved to a staggering level: because of his healing factor, [[Immortality|he cannot die]] because his body keeps regenerating him, even after receiving wounds deep enough to shut down his biological functions. Jackson King suggested he could even regenerate "from a scrap of DNA."
Line 50:
*Cynthia Cray — a telepath and precognitive
All were killed by Judgment except for Genevieve, who killed Judgment and escaped from the laboratory where they were created, and Klaus Cray, who was captured by Genevieve and later killed by John-Joe and Joe-John Cray. Gemma, Cynthia, and Michael Cray, Jr., are never shown alive due to being killed by Judgment Cray before the protagonists discovered them. Genevieve later joined up with [[Sublime (Wildstorm)|Sublime]], Michael Cray's daughter, and a few of her [[DV8]] teammates.
==DC's ''The New 52''==
Deathblow appears for the first time in the DC reboot in ''[[Grifter (comics)|Grifter]]'''s new series, making a team with [[Cheshire (comics)|Cheshire]],<ref>''Grifter'' (vol. 3) #9 (July 2012)</ref> but later was betrayed by her revealing she was an undercover agent for [[Helspont]]. Captured in Helspont's spaceship, he managed to escape and team up with Grifter to stop his plans.<ref>''Grifter'' (vol. 3) #12 (October 2012)</ref>
Deathblow also appears in ''Teen Titans'' (vol. 4) #23.2: ''Deathstroke''. He is first seen competing for an assassination with [[Deathstroke]]. The two men engage in combat, but Cray is overpowered and knocked down while Deathstroke finishes the job. He is later seen in Deathstroke's flashback, where Cray has Wilson's back in a battlefield while Wilson sets off a bomb. However, the detonation site turns out to be a children's hospital, which led to Wilson's resignation from the army.<ref>''Teen Titans'' (vol. 4) #23.2: ''Deathstroke'' (September 2013)</ref>
==The Wild Storm==
Line 65:
==Publications==
A new ''Deathblow'' (vol. 2) series began on October 25, 2006,<ref>[http://www.dccomics.com/comics/?cm=6062 DC Comics<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> with the second issue out a month later. Issue #9 (February 2008) appears to bewas the last issue of this series, ending with the 'death' of the character.<ref>[http://www.dccomics.com/comics/?cm=6254 DC Comics<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
A 12-issue series titled ''Michael Cray'' was published by DC Comics under the Wildstorm imprint in 2017–2018. The series was later issued as a paperback compilation.
=== Collected editions= ==
{| class="wikitable"
[[Trade paperback (comics)|Trade paperback]]s include:
|+
!Title
*''Deathblow: Sinners and Saints'' (by [[Brandon Choi]], [[Jim Lee]] and [[Tim Sale (artist)|Tim Sale]], trade paperback collects ''Deathblow'' #1-12, [[1993 in comics|1993]]-[[1995 in comics|1995]], [[WildStorm]]/[[DC Comics]], 256 pages, [[1999 in comics|1999]], {{ISBN|1-56389-547-1}})<ref>[http://www.dccomics.com/graphic_novels/?gn=1739 ''Deathblow: Sinners and Saints'' trade details at DC]</ref>
!Material
*''Deathblow Deluxe Edition'' (collects ''Deathblow'' #0-12 and ''Darker Image'' #1, DC Comics, 272 pages, softcover {{ISBN|1401251307}},{{ISBN|978-1401251307}}, hardcover {{ISBN|1401251307}},{{ISBN|978-1401247607}})
!Publication date
*''Deathblow/[[Wolverine (character)|Wolverine]]'' (by [[Aron Wiesenfeld]] and [[Richard Bennett Lamas|Richard Bennett]], [[Image Comics]]/[[WildStorm]], 64 pages, [[1997 in comics|1997]], {{ISBN|1-887279-61-X}})
!ISBN
*''[[Batman]]/Deathblow: After the Fire'' (by [[Brian Azzarello]], [[Lee Bermejo]], [[Tim Bradstreet]], and [[Mick Gray]], 160 pages, [[2003 in comics|2003]], [[Titan Books]], {{ISBN|1-84023-664-7}}, [[WildStorm]]/[[DC Comics]], {{ISBN|1-4012-0034-6}})<ref>[http://www.dccomics.com/graphic_novels/?gn=3945 ''Batman/Deathblow: After the Fire'' trade details at DC]</ref>
|-
*''Deathblow: Byblows'' (by [[Alan Moore]] and [[Jim Baikie]], three-issue miniseries, 1999–2000, collected in ''Wild Worlds'', [[Trade paperback (comics)|trade paperback]], 320 pages, [[Titan Books]], July 2007, {{ISBN|1-84576-559-1}}, [[Wildstorm]], May 2007, {{ISBN|1-4012-1379-0}})
|''Deathblow: Sinners and Saints''
*''Deathblow:...And Then You Live'' (by [[Brian Azzarello]], [[Carlos D'Anda]] and [[Henry Flint]], collects ''Deathblow'' (vol. 2) #1-9, August 2008, {{ISBN|1-4012-1515-7}})<ref>[http://www.dccomics.com/graphic_novels/?gn=9778 ''... And The You Live'' trade details at DC]</ref>
|''Deathblow'' (vol. 1) #1-12
|November 1999
|{{ISBNT|978-1563895470}}<ref>[http://www.dccomics.com/graphic_novels/?gn=1739 ''Deathblow: Sinners and Saints'' trade details at DC]</ref>
|-
|''Deathblow Deluxe Edition''
|''Deathblow'' (vol. 1) #0-12, ''Darker Image'' #1
|March 2014
|{{ISBNT|978-1401247607}}
|-
|''Deathblow/Wolverine''
|''Deathblow/Wolverine #1-2''
|August 1997
|{{ISBNT|978-1887279611}}
|-
|''Batman/Deathblow: After the Fire''<ref>Also released as a Deluxe Edition in 2013.</ref>
|''Batman/Deathblow: After the Fire'' #1-3
|May 2003
|{{ISBNT|978-1401200343}}<ref>[http://www.dccomics.com/graphic_novels/?gn=3945 ''Batman/Deathblow: After the Fire'' trade details at DC]</ref>
|-
|''Wild Worlds''
|''Deathblow: Byblows'' #1-3 and ''Spawn/WildC.A.T.s'' #1-4, ''Voodoo'' #1-4, ''Voodoo: Dancing in the Dark'' #1, ''WildC.A.T.S'' #50, ''Wildstorm'' Spotlight #1
|August 2007
|{{ISBNT|978-1401213794}}
|-
|''Deathblow:...And Then You Live''
|''Deathblow'' (vol. 2) #1-9
|August 2008
|{{ISBNT|978-1401215156}}<ref>[http://www.dccomics.com/graphic_novels/?gn=9778 ''... And The You Live'' trade details at DC]</ref>
|-
|''The Wild Storm: Michael Cray Vol. 1''
|''The Wild Storm: Michael Cray'' #1-6
|July 2018
|{{ISBNT|978-1401281052}}
|-
|''The Wild Storm: Michael Cray Vol. 2''
|''The Wild Storm: Michael Cray'' #7-12
|January 2019
|{{ISBNT|978-1401285586}}
|}
==Notes==
{{Reflist|235em}}
==References==
Line 89 ⟶ 128:
==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20160303230008/http://www.popimage.com/content/viewnews.cgi?newsid1165980987,15276, Review of issue #1]
*[http://www.comicsbulletin.com/reviews/116221995319844.htm Review of issue #1] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170905190050/http://www.comicsbulletin.com/reviews/116221995319844.htm |date=2017-09-05 }}, [[Comics Bulletin]]
{{Jim Lee}}
{{Deathblow}}
Line 96 ⟶ 136:
[[Category:1993 comics debuts]]
[[Category:2006 comics debuts]]
[[Category:FictionalDC Comics characters with accelerated healing]]
[[Category:DC Comics military personnel]]
[[Category:DC Comics telekinetics]]
[[Category:Wildstorm Universe superheroes]]
[[Category:Characters created by Jim Lee]]